Foster Parenting: The Forgotten Piece in the Adoption Debate

Have you ever considered foster parenting? In the recent debate about adoption, why did the debate focus only on expensive infant adoptions? Why don’t we do more for these kids who have had a hard life? These questions – except being a foster parent as a priest – keep coming up in my mind.

In the past week, there has been some debate about the new tax bill removing the adoption tax credit. Many pro-life organizations such as the Susan B. Anthony List opposed removing this credit. SBA List stated: “This important tax credit helps tens of thousands of families each year offset the steep costs of adopting children.”

Yet there are 126,000 kids in foster care waiting for adoption. Adopting them only costs $0-2500 according to U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. That isn’t that steep a cost: thus far in the debate, the cost of an adoption most commentators use has been $35-40K. That $35-40K is accurate if an adoption is an infant adoption and/or a foreign adoption but those aren’t the only types. Let’s look at how we can help foster kids: both where they are and in finding adoptive parents.

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Fr. Matthew P. Schneider, LC

We love Jesus. Jesus loved us first. I want to help you experience Jesus and become his apostle. I'm a priest with the Legionaries of Christ ordained in 2013, living in the Washington DC metro area where I studies at STL and helps out with various ministries. I'm also one of the top priests on social media with over 40,000 Twitter followers. I'm originally from Calgary, Alberta, Canada, but I've worked throughout North America.

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